revision #3

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 oz Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur
1/2 oz Zucca Rabarbaro Amaro
1/2 oz Byrrh Grand Quinquina

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.
A few Sundays ago, Andrea and I made another pilgrimage to Woburn to have dinner at Sichuan Garden II in the Baldwin Bar space. For a first drink, I asked bartender Ran Duan for the Revision #3 which appeared like an interesting Manhattan variation. I later found an old menu online that had the Amalia, the Bacardi 8 Rum version of this ingredient set that might have been what this was a revision on. Moreover, the Amalia could have been a riff on what I dubbed the Queen's Slipper that he made me a few months before. Once mixed, the Revision #3 offered an herbal grape aroma that led into a malt and grape sip that shared a Madeira sort of feel. Next, the rye came through in the swallow along with the walnut notes, and it ended with an herbal finish that was reminiscent of Cynar.